Page 3 of Break Away
“The one where you act like I’m embarrassing both of us because I want a conversation after you just came screaming my name into my pillow.”
Her eyes flashed. “Lower your voice.”
“Why?” I stood, not moving toward her but refusing to back off. “Afraid someone will hear?”
Her jaw tightened.
“Aura, everyone knows.”
She laughed once, sharp and humorless. “Everyone suspects.”
“Everyone knows,” I repeated. “Briggs knows. Rider knows. Ryan knows. Cade knew before he almost died, and Bliss definitely knows because Bliss has never met a secret she didn’t tackle to the ground and interrogate. Charm knows because she looks at me like she’s deciding whether my emotional damage goes with your outfit. There is no secret anymore.”
Her expression hardened, which meant I was too close.
“I can see how you look at me,” I said, lowering my voice. “They can see it too. And the sex? Aura, come on. You can lie to everyone else if you want, but how the fuck do you lie this badly to my face?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Careful.”
I laughed, but there was nothing funny in it. “That’s your answer?”
“My answer is that you’re doing a lot right now.”
“I’m tired of sneaking around.”
“We are not sneaking around.”
I stared at her, and she stared back, chin lifted and pride wrapped around her like armor.
“We’re having fun,” she said. “That was the deal.”
The words hit exactly where she meant them to.
That was the deal, and at first, it was nothing more than Aura being so fucking sexy and my dick wanting a part of the party.
At first.
The first night had been a mistake dressed up like a choice. A party. Too much adrenaline after a win. Aura in my kitchen wearing a red sequin mini dress that looked fucking delectable on her, mouthing off to us like she owned the place, then looking at me like she had just discovered I had teeth.
I had followed her onto the back porch. She had insulted my emotional availability. I had told her she hid behind sarcasm because she was scared.
She had kissed me to shut me up.
That was the beginning. Fun, casual, and no expectations.
Except nothing about Aura Clarke had ever been casual for me.
Not the way she argued like she wanted to win and be understood at the same time. Not the way she watched everyone in a room and pretended she wasn’t cataloging every emotional fracture. Not the way she loved Bliss and Charm with her whole body but acted like needing anyone would kill her. Not the way she touched me after midnight, hungry and fierce, then flinched from tenderness when morning got too close.
“You keep saying that,” I said. “Like repeating it enough will make it true.”
“It is true.”
“No, it was true. Maybe. For a minute. But we’re not there anymore.”
Her mouth curved again, meaner this time. “We?”
“Yeah. We.”
